Grease, lube, or solvent?
A clean chain makes for a happy, efficient bike. Properly greased screws and joints will make your life much easier when it comes time to switch out parts, adjust your position or just do that big end of year bike cleaning project. There are a ton of greases, lubes and solvents on the market and each one claims to do it all. Here is a short guide to help you choose the right lube to meet your needs.
Chain Lubes
Keeping a clean chain is the single most important piece of maintenance performed on your bike. A clean, quiet chain will decrease wear on your drivetrain and enhance your riding experience. Selecting a proper lube is imperative to maintaining your chain.
Wax or no? - One of the main variables in chain lubes is that some contain a small amount of wax and some don't. Whether you need wax or not depends on the type of riding you do. The wax in chain lube clings to the crevices in your chain and drivetrain providing a base layer of lubrication when elements such as water and dirt may strip the oil from your chain. This is ideal for mountain bikers, all-weather commuters and your rain bike. Rock N Roll Extreme Chain Lube and PMS Products T9 Bicycle Lubricant are excellent lubes for the MTB or rain bike.
On the other hand, wax lubes are not ideal for your high-end road/race bike. On a bike that generally stays fairly clean, the wax that gathers in those crevices will inhibit the more efficient oil from reaching the contact areas of your chain. High quality oil is always the single best lubricant for your bike, it just won't hold up in nasty weather. Dumonde Tech Bicycle Chain Lubrication and ProGold ProLink Chain Lubricant are excellent lubes that employ space-age oil compounds to maintain maximum efficiency.
Oil Based Solvents
Solvents such as Tri-Flow and WD40 are often thought of as lubes but are actually solvents! Do not, I repeat, DO NOT lube your chain with an oil based solvent, ever! Oil based solvents can actually damage a chain. They strip away those oils gathered in the deepest crevices of your chain and drivetrain which leads to the bicycle mechanic's greatest known enemy, metal-on-metal contact, the cause of squeaky chains.
Solvents do have a role in the cycling world. They are great at loosening seized parts, fixing squeaky clamps (think seatpost clamps and stem faces) and clearing greasy buildup from shifters, cables and housing. No deep clean of your bike is complete without stripping off your shifters, derrailleurs and brakes and spraying them down with an oil based solvent. Let them sit for a few hours and then wipe it all off, and your drivetrain will shine like new!
Solvents have their role, it is just not on a chain.
Grease
The bike mechanic's best friend is a big tube of grease. When assembling a bike, anything threaded receives a generous smear of grease and is carefully tightened. Bicycles contain plenty of fragile aluminum and titanium screws that can be completely destroyed by over-tightening. While each mechanic has their own preference, Park Tool PPL-1 Polylube 1000 Tube, Dumonde Tech MR Grease, and Finish Line Synthetic Grease Tube 3.5 oz. are all mechanic grade greases suitable for any bike.
Grease is thick, sticky and built to last. Leaving excess grease on the outside of parts is going to attract dirt, so make sure once everything is tightened down that excess grease is cleaned off.
For extra bike mechanic geek points, use both Dumonde Tech Liquid Grease and Dumonde Tech MR Grease and mix them to your desired consistency. Seriously, people do this.
Citrus Solvent
If you want something clean... really clean... Dumonde Tech Citrus Solvent is the answer. No shop is complete without a bottle of diluted citrus solvent (1:1 water/solvent ratio) to give chains the deep clean. Citrus solvent is extremely strong, cutting through the thickest road grit. Feel your hands start to burn a little after working with this stuff? It's that strong. Dilute it and use it sparingly, but nothing cuts grease better.
As great as Dumonde Tech Citrus Solvent works, don't get too carried away with your chain cleaning. Once a month, at the most, for an avid rider in fair-to-good riding conditions. While citrus solvents work great, over-cleaning can strip away the good oils that accumulate in the nooks and crannies of your chain, leading to undue chain wear. Also, keep it away from the clear-coat on your frame; it'll eat right through that stuff.
